Battle of the Dead
by TriggerhappySOB
Summary: A brief story about one of Goku's adventures in Other-world after his death at the hands of Cell. So as to not ruin the plot of either of my stories, I'll not state too much. See how his outlook on life has changed, and what his time in Other-world has in store for him.
1. Once more into the pit

**Hi all! Well, here we are! For those of you who haven't read my other work, this is a side-story that is supposed to fit in with my other DBZ fanfic: What should have been. With that being said, this can be read completely separate of the other, and vice-versa. As always with my works, don't be afraid to point out where I make mistakes, I'm open to criticisms and praise alike. I just hope that this is more worthy of the latter than the former. R&R and enjoy!**

**CHAPTER 1: Once more into the Pit**

"Goku, I am well aware of what you've done for this universe in the past, but my hands are tied! This order comes down from the Grand Kai himself, and it is absolute!"

Goku stared up hopelessly at the giant red demon that was King Yemma. At his side, King Kai shifted uncomfortably, carefully avoiding looking at the halo that hung over his head. Goku scratched the back of his neck, attempting to force the itch of his anxiety away. He couldn't give up yet.

"But King Yemma, surely there is something that can be done? If I know the guys at all, they're going to try and wish me back to life-"

"We can't do that Goku. According to the Grand Kai, you are not allowed to go back. Ever. His orders were to have you sent to his world, for what I don't know."

Goku thought of his family back on earth. His son. His wife. All of his other friends. It began to dawn on him that he would never see them again. His blood chilled at the thought and he looked up pleadingly at Yemma. For the first time ever, the giant man appeared to be displaying pity before a mortal.

"I am sorry Goku, I know what this will mean for you and your family. But you did kill a Kai, and there are consequences for such an action."

Goku hung his head, slowly letting his fate sink in and wondering about what would soon be his existence.

***FIVE YEARS LATER – GRAND KAI'S WORLD***

Goku wandered about aimlessly. He'd walked these grounds millions of times before whenever he had to think. He thought a lot. In his time on the Kai's world, he had learned much. He'd discovered a group of heroes that had had been brought to the world for the opportunity to train under the Grand Kai. He'd learned that many of them were regularly sent out for missions within otherworld to keep the peace, and he'd learned just how powerful many of them were. He'd discovered that there were several Kai's, including one from each quadrant of the universe and the Grand Kai himself. He'd learned a lot about the history of the universe, and he'd even competed in the Grand Kai's tournament and tied for the win against Pikkon: a powerful Namekian-like warrior from the west quadrant.

But none of it bore the same joy it would have brought him five years before. In all the time he'd been here, he had heard nothing of his own world. He often wondered how his absence would affect everyone he knew. Gohan would be a young man by this point, and Goku tried hard to imagine what he would look like. His wife's image was permanently branded into his mind, haunting his dreams and stabbing his heart with longing every time he saw it. He missed the bond they shared. He missed his home.

That wasn't to say that otherworld wasn't nice, it really was. But his homesickness was driving him into insanity. Add onto that all of the training he had been forced into during his time there, and Goku was about at the end of his rope. On more than one occasion, he contemplated ways to get out, including destroying himself. But then he would remember that he was already dead, and incapable of doing so.

_I would rather they had sent me to hell._

His lamentations were interrupted by none other than Pikkon. The green alien waved him down and strode over to him.

"Oh, hey Pikkon."

Pikkon halted before him, looking at the Saiyan with a curious expression.

"Out here all on your own again huh? You alright?"

Goku quickly realized that he must be looking awefully depressed considering the thoughts he had been having, and shifted his expression into a weak smile.

"Yea, I'm fine Pikkon. Just thinking."

"You should learn how to lie better Goku… Your family again?"

Goku's eyes unfocused as he played images of his wife and son in his mind again. He hated that Pikkon knew him well enough to know when something was bothering him, but conceded that that's what happens when you make friends in strange places. He shook his head and smiled towards the green man.

"Yea, just wondering how they all are doing. But anyways, what's up? I don't usually find you here roaming about the Grand Kai's garden."

Pikkon considered him a moment and Goku worried that he would pursue the matter. He was relieved when he didn't.

"Well actually, I was sent up here to find you. The Grand Kai has something for us to do, and he seemed to think that you would get pretty excited about it."

Goku felt a brief pang of excitement shoot through him as all sorts of possible scenarios shot through his mind. Up to this point, he hadn't been sent out to do anything fun, which had resulted in his recent depression.

"Well, what is it?"

Pikkon cocked an eyebrow at him and crossed his arms with a slight smile on his face. He shrugged his shoulders and spoke in an amused voice.

"I don't know for certain, but it sounds like we're going to hell."

Goku felt a weight drop in his stomach as he recalled what he had been thinking only minutes before. It must have shown on his face because Pikkon rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Not permanently, he said that somebody was making a mess down there and now the Demon King has disappeared. By the sounds of it, many of your old rivals have banded together and are attempting to take over hell by force. It would seem they didn't like the arrangements that were set up for them."

Goku laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head, mumbling to himself.

"Heh. Maybe I shouldn't be so hasty with my words… Still, I would love to have another go at Frieza."

Pikkon grinned at his Saiyan friend, clapping him on the shoulder.

"That's the spirit! Now come on, you and I need to meet up with the Grand Kai as soon as possible, and he'll get the arrangements set up."

***HELL – BLOOD LAKE***

Goz and Mez were on the run. Hell was in total chaos; or rather it was in a worse state of chaos than normal. But this time, nobody was safe. It happened very often that people would come to hell, and of recent years, several of them had been quite nasty pieces of work. It took all of the two ogre's cunning and strength to keep things in a relative state of order, lest the Demon king be forced to interfere personally. But this time, things had gotten far beyond their control.

"Damn that guy! Who the hell does he think he is?"

Mez looked to his counterpart with a panicked expression as an explosion rang out behind him.

"Well he was screaming something about carrots back there. I don't know he wasn't making any sense."

Goz glanced to their rear before diving behind the cover of a statue, with Mez following close behind.

"Who ever heard of a guy going on a rampage over carrots?! I mean they're not that bad…"

"Well whatever it is, he still is going out of control! On top of that, those whackos that have been causing issues for the last thirty years have all banded together and are plotting something for sure!"

"Yea that doesn't bode well for us man! I mean we're not technically dead, and if Dabura has to get involved again he's going to kill us!"

"Well actually, if you two idiots had been paying attention, you would have noticed that the Demon king has actually gone missing. If anyone is going to kill you, it will be me."

The pompous voice rang out from behind them, startling the two of them and causing them to spin about looking for the source. It took them several seconds to realize that they were being spoken to from above. They froze and cowered at the sight before them. There, fronted by the grasshopper-like Cell, were several of Hell's more powerful detainees. Amongst them were Frieza with most of his cronies, King Cold, and the entirety of the Red Ribbon army. All of them stared down at the two ogres, their amusement apparent on their faces and their confidence radiating from them all.

"Crap! We're in for it now Mez."

Cell smirked and descended to the ground before the two ogres. The two of them cowered behind their bulbous muscles and peeked out at the android from behind their hands.

"Not quite yet you're not. First, you're going to tell us how to get out of this place while that bumbling idiot has everyone distracted. I cannot use Instant transmission to leave, but I know you told Goku how to get back onto snake way some years ago. You're going to tell me how, and don't bother trying to make a game out of it. You know as well as I do that neither of you are a match for me."

Confidence carried his voice in its pompous manner, and the two Ogres looked to each other with knowing eyes. If Cell were to get out of hell, there was no telling what he and the others would do. Even worse, they were certain that Dabura would eventually return, and if he did…

"No way! Say what you want to, we ain't telling you nothing!"

"Yea!"

Cell laughed, quietly at first before building into a full on uproar, and the others joined him soon after. The two Ogres sank lower and lower with every passing second, as if they could meld into the ground and disappear by sheer will alone. Cell's smile returned and he narrowed his eyes at the two.

"Oh, that is too funny. We'll just have to see about that now won't we… Get them."

He waved lazily over his shoulder and turned to leave, just as a huge group of villains rushed forward to seize the helpless duo.

***GRAND KAI'S HOME***

Goku bowed respectfully towards the shaggy looking Kai. The old man still looked like he was trying to live the youth of some of the kids on Earth, with his denim jeans and vest. To Goku he looked ridiculous, but he refrained from saying so out loud. The Grand Kai pushed his sunglasses higher on his nose and rose from his chair where he had been lazily resting, gazing up at the ceiling in apparent contemplation.

"Good, I see you found him. Are you two ready?"

Pikkon nodded, but Goku righted himself and held up a hand in question.

"Who exactly are we going after? Pikkon mentioned the guys from Earth and all that, but said he didn't know who was starting all the chaos."

The Grand Kai shrugged and planted his gloved hands on his hips with a confident smile.

"I don't know! It's fun isn't it? To be honest I'm rather jealous of you two, whoever did it is making an outright mess of it, and it's fun watching Yemma struggle with it. Heh heh."

Goku cocked an eyebrow at that, scratching the back of his head in confusion. He glanced to his side and shared a worried look with Pikkon.

"Ummm Grand Kai? Are you sure that this is something to be laughing about? I mean, by the sounds of it this could get pretty bad right?"

"Ahhhh don't be such a sour-puss Goku! Live a little!"

Goku furrowed his brow in frustration.

_You're the one who said I can't… Literally…_

Pikkon noticed the look that took over Goku's face and rubbed his temples in irritation.

"Sir, go ahead and send us now? I think we can handle whatever we find down there."

"Yea yea, Goku, I'm just gonna go ahead and remove your limitations on your Instant transmission. You two go to King Yemma and he'll send you to hell. You kids have fun alright?"

Goku felt a jolt of excitement at the words. He hadn't even attempted to use instant transmission since his death, having been told that it was one technique he would not be able to use. Without hesitation, he reached over and grabbed the back of Pikkon's robes, pressing his first two fingers to his forehead and tapping into his ki. As the two of them disappeared in a blink of an eye, the Grand Kai let out a deep breath and wiped a bead of sweat from his brow.

"Man… I don't know how long I would have been able to keep that charade up. That Goku… I hate having to do this crap to him."

***MINUTES LATER***

Goku blinked into existence, trailing a wide-eyed Pikkon that clutched at his chest and breathed heavily. Goku stepped forward and took in his surroundings. It was all as he remembered; The giant lake of blood with the fountain in the center, the thorny bushes and trees that littered the landscape, the rubble that was scattered everywhere. Even the smell was exactly the same. The one thing that stuck out in his mind was the lack of anybody being there. He glanced behind him and almost laughed out loud at the expression Pikkon wore, still frozen in place with wide eyes and gritted teeth.

"Ha! You okay Pikkon?"

The tall alien shook his head and brushed himself off, like he had just recovered from a fall.

"I'm fine, but we are _not _travelling that way again… So this is hell?"

Goku smiled and gazed around. In spite of the fact that he was literally standing in hell, he couldn't help but let his happiness for being somewhere besides the Kai's planet show on his face. It made even the bleak conditions seem like a vacation to him.

"Yep! This your first visit?"

"Yea. To be honest it's not quite what I expected… I think I was imagining brimstone and fire with a big red demon lashing you as you worked endlessly."

Goku laughed, remembering when he was a child all of the silly depictions of hell he had heard from people. He admitted that those fantastical places sounded much more hellish, but this wasn't his first visit.

"Nah, this is it! It's not too different than any other place really, with the exception of the blood lakes... And all the baddies… Speaking of…"

Goku closed his eyes and extended his senses. Immediately he felt out the ki of several thousands of beings, some more powerful than the others, but none sticking out so much as to raise any alarm bells. There were so many that he wasn't entirely sure where he was supposed to go next. But it was all so new and all so different that he got excited anyway. Somewhere in here was someone that he would get to test himself against, he only had to find them. He extended his senses out until the amount of ki pressing in on him was nearly unbearable and gave up. He scratched at the back of his head and looked around, slightly put out. Sudden inspiration struck him, and he cast his gaze up to the yellow clouds above him.

_Maybe I can…_

He felt his heart jump slightly and extended his senses out, searching for a very specific ki. But he realized that he was still unable to feel anything beyond the dense cloud cover and the barrier that lay within it. He tried not to let his disappointment show on his face, but Pikkon noticed.

"Hey, Goku what's up?"

Goku considered him for a moment before shaking his head irritably.

"Nothing… I just hoped I might be able to sense my son from here. It's stupid I know, but I thought that maybe the different location… Ah, whatever, you don't need to worry about it. Let's get this done."

Without a further word to him, Goku took to the air and began his search. It wasn't long before they began to notice signs of fighting. Residual energy radiated from multiple places, and Goku realized that much of the ki he was feeling was just that. His eyes scanned the landscape, picking out scorch marks and attempting to identify what had happened. There were no bodies lying about, but he reasoned since everyone was already dead here, they couldn't really die again. Or at least that's what he believed to be. He furrowed his brow and peeked over his shoulder towards Pikkon. He was about to pose a question when the green alien beat him to it.

"Hey Goku, I know you said you can sense energy right?"

"Yea, Ki. Why?"

"Is it a racial thing?"

Goku was slightly caught off guard by the question and halted himself. Pikkon zipped past him a few feet before halting himself likewise. Goku cocked his head to the side and blinked in surprise a couple times.

"No… Can you not sense ki?"

Pikkon merely shook his head with a shrug. Goku just stared at him in disbelief.

"How many people do you know that can?"

"Well, you're actually the first mortal I've met who can do it. I know the Kais can, but I thought that was just one of their abilities. So it's not something that only Saiyans can do?"

Goku considered it for a second before realizing that it was never something he had thought about. It just came natural to him from the time he was a child, and all of the Z fighters on earth were capable, he just assumed that everyone could. He cracked a smile and crossed his arms.

"Nope, there were earthlings that were capable of it too. Actually I was taught how to do it by an Earthling when I was a boy. I'm sure you can too, you just gotta learn how to notice it."

Pikkon furrowed his brow and nodded. Goku felt a tug at his consciousness as a burst of Ki radiated out from near them, and turned to face it. He saw a man take to the air some distance away from them and rush towards him. He balled his hands into fists and prepared himself for any threat the man posed, and awaited him to reach them. It didn't take long, and as his figure became clear, Goku felt his stomach drop like a lead weight. The man's overly muscular form was shrouded in Saiyan battle armor of black and orange, and his wild black hair flowed behind his head down to his waist. A fuzzy brown tail was wrapped tightly around his waist and as their eyes locked, an expression of shock showed on his face. He pulled up short and faced Goku, mere feet apart.

"Kakarot?!"

At Goku's side, Pikkon's ki spiked, and he spoke with barely contained curiosity.

"Kakarot? Goku do you know this guy?"

But Goku ignored the question, staring down the Saiyan. He tried to keep his face neutral as he glared at his long dead brother.

"Raditz. You're not the one causing all the trouble down here are you?"

Raditz gritted his teeth and looked between the two fighters before him, his expression one of fierce determination. His eyes locked with the golden halo above the both of their heads, and he snarled at his brother.

"No, actually. So you are dead then? I thought that you would have been brought back to life or something like that."

Goku shook his head, refusing to take his eyes off of his brother. The memories of their last encounter still stirred feelings of hatred towards him.

"Not this time. I'm dead for good."

"Then there are no Saiyans left?"

"Except for Vegeta and our sons."

"Bah! Filthy half breeds? Spare me."

Goku growled and crossed his arms defiantly. He was about to spit a retort back at his brother, but Raditz turned his back and waved it off before he could, descending back in the direction he had come.

"I don't have time to sit here and chat brother, the others await me. I'd suggest you follow."

Goku and Pikkon shared a glance at each other before cautiously following the Saiyan. They stayed back just far enough to be out of earshot, and Pikkon voiced his concerns.

"Goku, I'm not sure we should trust this guy. He said you were his brother, but somehow I get the feeling that it's not a friendly relationship you two share."

"No, you're right Pikkon. The last time I saw him we both died fighting, after he kidnapped my son and tried to force me to kill off a bunch of humans. But he may know something about what's going on down here, and he said 'others'. I'm curious who he means by that."

"Well, just stay on your guard okay? I don't want to have to save you like last time."

Goku rolled his eyes and returned his sights to his elder brother's back. They descended lower and lower, until Goku realized that they were almost upon a large cave system surrounded by brambles. Raditz touched down below them and immediately disappeared into the shade of the bushes, leaving Goku and Pikkon standing outside trying to peer into the inky blackness. It wasn't long before voices could be heard echoing out of the cave and Raditz reappeared. The two brothers stared hard at eachother for a moment before Raditz stepped to the side, crossing his arms and making way for another figure. Goku felt a jolt of recognition at the man that appeared before him, materializing out of the shade.

In size and stature, he was almost identical to Goku, and even his hair shared the same spiky quality. Like Raditz, he was armored in Saiyan battle armor, though his was of a green and black color scheme. For a moment, Goku thought that he was looking at Turles, but there were differences that separated them in his mind. There was a scar across his left cheek and he was considerably tanner than Turles. But the biggest difference was his eyes. While still the same pitch black that was shared by all Saiyans, his expression was anything but hostile. He seemed to be in a state of shock, a far cry from Raditz's expression of irritation.

"Kakarot? You're really here?"

Goku blinked a couple of times as the voice washed over him, eliciting an unbidden feeling of nostalgia from somewhere deep in his chest. He knew that voice, but he hadn't heard it in so long now.

"Father?"

A smirk graced the elder Saiyan's lips at his words, and he extended a hand towards his long lost son.

"It's a little late my son, but finally I get to meet you. Please, we are both men here, call me Bardock."

Goku was uncertain what he was supposed to do. Surely there was some proper Saiyan greeting that came with addressing his sire, but he didn't know what it could be. So he went with the usual earth greeting, and grasped his father's hand firmly with his own, and smiled when the gesture was not rejected. Behind Bardock's back, Raditz rolled his eyes and grumbled incoherently about how he still referred to Bardock as "father". Bardock glared over his shoulder at his oldest son irritably.

"Oh be quiet Raditz. You still haven't grown up."

Raditz sniffed irritably and turned on his heel to disappear once more into the cave. Bardock watched him go until he disappeared into the blackness and returned his gaze to his son. They released their grasp and stood apart, and Bardock sighed.

"He's still upset that you passed him up by so much since his demise. Granted we don't get to see anything that happens beyond this realm, but I knew of your ascension to Super Saiyan even before my death."

Goku felt his jaw drop at the revelation, and scratched at the back of his neck nervously.

"How? I had no clue what a Super Saiyan was until I transformed. I mean yea sure, Vegeta talked about it a lot but neither of us were quite prepared for it."

Bardock smirked again and tapped the side of his head with a single finger.

"One of the things that the people from planet Kannasan cursed me with before the destruction of our home was premonitions. I witnessed the downfall of Frieza and the rise of the Saiyan in Orange to the Legendary Super Saiyan years before it happened. I still had a difficult time believing it until Frieza found his way down here, along with his father."

Goku laughed nervously and scratched the side of his nose.

"Well actually, I didn't deal the final blow to either of them. That was Vegeta's son, Trunks."

Bardock cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"The prince has mated then? And sired another Super Saiyan no less?"

"Yep! We both erm… mated with Earthling women and had a son each, and all of us can transform."

Bardock looked like Christmas had come early for him and clapped his son on the shoulder.

"You will have to tell me about all of this! But not yet, your mother and King Vegeta will surely want to hear about it."

Bardock's eyes shifted suddenly over his son's shoulder, his expression neutral and calculating. Goku traced his eyes and saw that the subject of his contemplations was Pikkon, patiently standing off to the side like a statue.

"Oh, darn I almost forgot! Da-… Bardock, this is Pikkon, he came with me from the Kai's planet to deal with whatever is causing problems down here."

Bardock's expression darkened considerably at the change of subject, but he nevertheless nodded courteously towards the tall alien. Pikkon nodded likewise, and with those introductions out of the way, Bardock returned his eyes to his son.

"We may have to hold off on the family reunion then son. I'll let King Vegeta explain when we see him. Come on, I'll lead you through."

With that, Bardock turned and began his trek into the cave after his other son, with Goku and Pikkon close behind. As they entered the caves, Goku's eyes adjusted quickly, and he realized that there was a whole maze of caves beneath the hills. He stayed close behind his father, peering into the darkness and trying to remember the rout they were taking. The journey was complicated, but short, and soon there was a glow at the end of the tunnel, followed by the sounds of conversation. They emerged into a cavern of sorts, lit dimly by wall mounted lanterns. Goku felt his jaw drop at who all was inside however. Everywhere he looked, there were Saiyans. Each varied in height, anywhere between Vegeta's size all the way up to how large Nappa was when he was alive. All of them bore the usual Saiyan traits of pitch black hair and midnight eyes, and they were all looking at him.

Four Saiyans approached the trio as they entered the room. Three were males, one roughly the same size as Bardock and Goku with a muscular figure and hair pulled back into a ponytail, another of much shorter and plumper build and a messy mop, and the third of a monstrous size that seemed much older than the other two due to his primarily bald head. The other Saiyan was a female with a powerful build, like that of a professional body builder, with a tangled mess of short hair atop her head. All four of them were adorned in Saiyan battle armor of varying colors and designs, and all of them radiated a large amount of ki. Each wore their tails wrapped tightly about their waists, and they were staring hard at Goku with varying degrees of skepticism and confusion.

Bardock held up a hand to stall any questions or comments from them and looked about the cavern, searching for something.

"Guys, have you seen Gine?"

The lone female in the group crossed her arms and glanced over her shoulder briefly before returning her gaze to the newcomers. Goku stared right back, fascinated by his first glimpse of a female Saiyan. He knew that the Saiyan race was one of strength and ferocity, but he hadn't ever expected there to be anything remotely attractive at all. This woman was quite beautiful, even with her muscular build and careless appearance.

"Yea, your punk son pulled her to the side over there. Who's the runt? He looks Saiyan… minus the tail."

Bardock looked towards Goku with a smirk on his face before addressing them again.

"Remember how I told you guys who defeated Frieza all those years ago? Well… This is Kakarot, my second Son."

The four Saiyans reacted similarly, looking between the two Saiyans with contemplative expressions. The Saiyan directly in front of him with the plump build rubbed his chin curiously, scratching at the stubble around his trimmed goatee in an irritating manner.

"Well, I can certainly see the resemblance."

The female Saiyan nodded her head in agreement.

"Certainly more than you share with Raditz. This is the Super Saiyan huh?"

Goku smiled nervously and scratched the back of his neck. All of the attention was starting to get to him. Normally it wouldn't bug him, but there was something about being among other members of his race that made him nervous. He felt the impulse to show off, to prove his father's word and transform, but held himself back out of anxiety. Thankfully, Bardock pushed them aside none too gently, parting them so that Goku and Pikkon could follow him into the room. Goku flinched when the female Saiyan leaned in closer to him as he passed, her eyes narrowed as she stared up at him with a confident smirk on her face. He picked up the pace, following close behind Bardock and nervously glancing over his shoulder. He barely heard the hushed conversation that started up behind them.

"Super Saiyan? He doesn't look all that powerful to me. I bet Bardock could whip him still."

"Probably, if that little tussle with Raditz after he died said anything."

"Well, we'll just have to see what the King has to say about this huh? Super Saiyan or not, he's the outsider here. We don't need his help."

"What I don't get is why he gets a halo. What makes him so special?"

"Bet he's a kiss ass."

Goku sniffed irritably and returned his eyes to the front, shutting out the conversation. He was abruptly halted when a smaller body slammed into his front, squeezing him around the middle. He blinked in surprise a few times, trying to understand what he was seeing. From his vantage point, he could only make out a tangled mess of shoulder length hair and a tail waving about excitedly. Judging by the small size of the person hugging him, he guessed that it was a woman, slightly shorter than Chi Chi. Bardock stood to the side, glaring about the room as if to challenge anyone who dared interrupt, and Raditz could be seen to the side shaking his head face-palming.

"Kakarot! Oh my son, it's really you isn't it?"

"Mother! Must you make a spectacle before the entire race?!"

Goku cocked an eyebrow at his brother's outburst and glanced down at the woman again.

"Mother?"

"Oh let me look at you!"

Once again, Goku was uncertain what he should do, and resorted to just standing there awkwardly. Gine stepped back and clasped her hands together excitedly, and Goku got his first real look at his mother. She was indeed short, and her delicate features made her seem much more like a human than a Saiyan. While the other female Saiyan he'd met was powerfully built, his mother seemed of a much softer type. She was still toned and very well defined, and she wore Saiyan battle armor, but her entire demeanor was different. Her bright smile filled him with a happiness he hadn't felt in a very long time, and it brought forth a grin from him.

"Wow! My mom… Cool!"

"My, you look every bit like Bardock! Well, except the scar of course, but you've still got those dashing looks. So tall too!"

"Mother! This display of affection is despicable."

Raditz' aggravated growl cut through the moment, and Gine's expression quickly turned to open irritation as she turned her gaze upon her eldest son.

"Oh be silent Raditz! You can cling to our old ways if you'd like, but it got us landed in this dump if I recall correctly. Now be a good boy and shut up before I have to pull out the pan!"

Goku couldn't help himself, he fell into a fit of laughter at the thought. Many of the other Saiyans laughed as well, though he suspected for a different reason. Gine turned a curious eye to him, as did Bardock and Raditz. He sobered up enough to wave off their confused expressions.

"Don't mind me, I just realized that you and my wife would get along extremely well."

A few seconds passed where they looked at him curiously before Goku realized that they didn't exactly understand the term "wife".

"My… umm… mate used to use a pan whenever she got mad at me or our son. It seemed that was the only thing that would have any effect on us."

Behind her back, Goku could see his father roll his eyes, and barely heard him mutter something about "crazy women". His mother, on the other hand, lit up at the mention of grandchildren and beamed at him.

"A mate! And a son! My, it's been so long. Tell me, where did you go? Bardock said that you defeated Frieza? What's happened?"

Goku laughed sheepishly as she rattled question after question, wondering where to begin.

"I would hear this as well, Kakarot, son of Bardock."

The powerful baritone that rumbled through the room silenced the quiet buzz of conversation and hung in the air with a feeling of authority. Gine and Bardock both stiffened slightly and looked somewhere off to the right of Goku before following the example of those around them, pressing a fist to their chest and bowing slightly. Goku glanced around curiously, noticing all the Saiyans present were doing likewise, and turned about to find the source of the voice. The man who confidently strode into the room radiated authoritative power, both in his posture and in the harsh visage he wore upon his face. It didn't take a second glance for him to realize who the newcomer was. He was a much taller version of Vegeta, though they two of them had similar body types. King Vegeta however wore a simple and neatly kept beard that matched the color of his flame-shaped hair. He wore a simple set of white Saiyan armor with red trim and a blood red cape that flowed gracefully from his shoulders.

Goku took one last glance around before fisting his right hand and following the gesture of the others. He may have only just discovered the rest of the Saiyan race, and he was quite certain that he was more powerful than anyone else in the room, but the king was the king for a reason, and he decided pissing him off would do no good. He held his tongue until he got a cue to do or say something else, and looked at the King as he stopped before him. Their eyes met, and Goku found himself staring into a pair of eyes that were full of years of pain and torture, as well as the strength to cope with it.

_The eyes of the warrior. Man, everything about this guy screams strength… Too bad I'd be able to beat him pretty easy._

King Vegeta seemed to be searching for something for several moments before he gestured for Goku to return to his original state. He did so, and a quick glance around told him that the other Saiyans in the room had also stood straight again. Vegeta continued to stare at him, but began walking about him in a wide circle, clasping his hands behind his back. Goku realized he was being inspected, and stood still, patiently waiting for him to finish.

"I admit, I was skeptical when Nappa told me that Kakarot had come to hell with the rest of his kin, and I see that my skepticism was well earned. You bear a Halo, which means you've been up with the other goody-goodies in Other-world?"

Goku was puzzled by the direction his words led, but thought nothing of it. He noticed another figure enter the room, which proved to be the massive form of Nappa himself. The general stood as tall as ever, with muscles bulging from under his Saiyan armor. Goku felt a pang of anger at the sight of him, but the other Saiyan didn't even seem to notice he was there, despite him being the center of the attention at the moment.

"Yea, I've been in Otherworld. I was killed in combat nearly five years ago now."

Vegeta continued to circle him slowly, and Goku heard his voice from behind him, full of curiosity.

"Five years hmm? I was told you were a Super Saiyan, and that you defeated Frieza. Surely you would not be one to fall to a lesser being?"

Goku nodded, turning his head to look directly at the king.

"I did defeat Frieza, though his death was not at my hands. As for me, I was killed by a creature named Cell. My son overpowered him after my death, and I believe he's here."

King Vegeta halted in front of the other Saiyan, crossing his arms and staring him down.

"Yes, we've had our share of run-ins with Cell, though none of us knew that he was one to take down a Super Saiyan. Our numbers are so few now, largely due to him."

Goku blinked in surprise at that statement, wondering what the king could mean by that. Surely it wasn't possible to kill someone that was already dead? But then, there were far fewer Saiyans than he had originally thought there would be. But the king didn't allow him to dwell on in too much.

"You said that you defeated Frieza, but did not kill him? Tell me, who did?"

Goku felt a small smile twitch the corners of his mouth upwards as he remembered the day in his mind. Watching from a distance with his ki as Trunks made his debut, coming out of nowhere and totally obliterating the small force of King Cold's planet-trade ship.

"That would be your Grandson, Trunks. He came back in time to warn us of a future threat, and destroyed Frieza and his father in mere seconds. It was quite the display of power, and the second Super-Saiyan any of us had ever seen."

The king quirked an eyebrow at that, a small vein pulsing in his forehead.

"You mean to tell me that not only did a low-class Saiyan surpass my son, but _his _son has done it as well? Not to mention, if your Son defeated Cell, he must be a Super Saiyan as well."

Goku scratched at the back of his neck nervously, shrugging his shoulders and glancing about at the other Saiyans in the room.

"Well, sorta. If you want to get technical, Vegeta… er… your son was the second Super Saiyan, since Trunks came back in time. At the time, our Trunks wasn't even born yet."

Vegeta's eyebrow twitched as he glared at the Saiyan before him. He took a deep breath and gestured towards a row of stools that littered the room, having apparently been carved out of the rock below them or the vines and roots above them.

"This, I want to hear. Come, take a seat. I would hear everything you have to tell me about my son and grandchild before you leave."

Goku glanced behind him to his parents. His father held a stern expression that belayed no hint of advice or acknowledgement. Goku reasoned that as he was a soldier in the king's army, it was a normal reaction for him. His mother however, gestured for him to go ahead. Nodding his acknowledgement, Goku turned back towards the king, and strode over to his seat. King Vegeta swung his cape about to prevent it from being caught beneath him as he sat, and looked directly at Goku with a serious glare.

"Now, begin were you and Nappa first met. I want to know everything."

**A/N: I decided to cut it off here for now, and there will be another one up before too long. This story-line isn't going to be a long one like my other fic, but I fully intend to bring out the entertainment potential of it before its done. As always, you all have a fantastic day, and stay tuned for more updates!**


	2. Past and Present

**Okay so I must apologize right up front for how long it took me to actually get this up. Things have been difficult recently with life in general, and I haven't had much time for either of my stories. But here it is finally, and i'm actually pretty happy with how it came out. Lots of dialogue, and it works its way into the next chapter, which i'm thinking is probably going to be the last one for this fic. It's short, but it is only an offshoot of my primary story after all. Anyways I hope you guys like it, and I'll get the next one up as soon as I am able.**

**CHAPTER 2: Past and Present**

Goku leaned into his knees with his elbows and waited patiently for King Vegeta to respond. He'd gone through his abreviated history as best as he could remember, starting with the battle with the Saiyan prince. It only took a few minutes total, and he only went into detail about his and Vegeta's past when asked. The king looked shocked for a few parts of his story, including the part where he and his friends had fought Broly on "New Vegeta" shortly before Cell, but hadn't interrupted. For the majority of his explanation, the King just sat and listened. It was strange, retelling his past. It all seemed so distant now, like he hadn't actually done it, like he had seen it in a movie. His mother and father stood to the side, along with the rest of the Saiyans who cared to listen in. Some of them looked upon him in open skepticism. Others seemed to believe him and were impressed. When he finished his tale with the explanation about the circumstances of his death and permanent state of being on the Kai's world, his mother had stiffened anxiously, sharing a nervous look with her mate.

King Vegeta nodded and stood, crossing his arms and looking down on him. He scanned the room critically before nodding his head, deciding something in his mind.

"It is a… strange tale… to be certain. But that is neither here nor there. We have all been here for a very long time now, and we've taken care of our own. We took care of our own even when we were forced into servitude under Frieza. We do not need the assistance of the Kai's to deal with our problems here. You should leave."

Goku recoiled in surprise at the statement, lost for words as the King turned his back on him and began walking away. Glancing around quickly, it seemed that a few of the other Saiyans, including both of his parents seemed shocked at the king's words. Irritation flared inside Goku's chest, realizing that his pride had taken a blow. He stood quickly, and if his heart were still beating, he knew his heart rate would have spiked.

"Leave? I can't just leave, I just got here!"

Without turning to face him, Vegeta stopped and stiffened.

"You shouldn't have come in the first place. We don't need your help. You, or your _friend_."

Goku felt his anger spike in full at that. He clenched his fists and looked about at the others faces. A few of them looked towards the King fearfully, but most glared at Goku for daring to defy his orders.

"If that was so, then I wouldn't have been pulled from my miserable existence up there to fix this mess in the first place. I know Cell, he's more powerful than anyone else I've ever faced before, and if he's teamed up with the likes of Frieza, then you're going to need all the help you can get! You already said that Saiyans have died here, so how are you going to fix it?"

In his anger, he spat the words out much more forcefully than he intended. The question he posed came as a challenge to the King, who abruptly turned to face him, his face contorted in disgust and anger.

"You wouldn't know anything about it fool! Our brothers and sisters have fallen to a worse fate than death! When they lost their bodies, they ceased to exist as anything more than lost souls! They are stranded here in this hell, without a conscious thought or any will of their own. They stopped existing! These crimes will not go unpunished, but you will not do anything about it. _We Saiyans _must defend our pride and avenge the fallen! Not you."

_That's it? Pride? Well now I know where Vegeta got his stubborn sense of pride from._

"So then what is one more Saiyan to you? I –"

"You're no Saiyan. You've never been a part of us. You are more Earthling than Saiyan."

The king spat the statement at him, cutting him off and glaring at him in challenge. Goku glared at him, trying to decipher his words. In truth, Goku agreed. He wasn't raised a Saiyan, he was raised a human. His entire existence had been shattered when he learned of his origins, but it didn't take away from the fact that at his core, he was an Earthling. Goku just clenched his jaw and glared at him in response. The King growled and shook his head, breathing deeply to control his anger.

"The one causing trouble here is not Cell, he's just capitalizing on the fact that Dabura is gone. No, the problem here is a Saiyan. The son of one of my best generals no less, and your ward-brother. He's done nothing since his arrival here days ago except scream your name in rage and destroy anything that got in his way."

Goku furrowed his brow in concentration, trying to understand what the King was speaking of. He'd not known of any brothers except for Raditz, much less whatever this "ward-brother" was. The only person who he had ever had scream his name in such a way was…

"Broly?!"

The realization brought up more questions to the front of his mind. Last he knew, Broly had died on New Vegeta years ago. By all rights, he should have been sent to hell on that day. His jaw was hanging open as he tried to process it all in his mind. King Vegeta crossed his arms and cracked his neck to the sides, still glaring at him.

"It seems you've put it together. Broly is like nothing I've ever encountered before. To be honest, I didn't even know he existed until Paragus found his way here after his death at the hands of his own Son. The Legendary Super Saiyan is once again amongst his own, and the first thing he did was go on a rampage because of _you_. We're being forced into hiding from him because he is so determined to destroy you."

Goku gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, hearing the knuckles crack under the strain.

"Well then let me deal with him! I've fought him before, and defeated him then. I can do it again."

Vegeta smirked at that, his smug expression matching his son's exactly in Goku's mind.

"What makes you think you stand a better chance than us? You're a Super Saiyan, but nothing more. You required help to defeat him last time, and we have greater numbers than you ever did."

Goku stared at him in confusion, wondering if the King was naive or just thick. His expression gave away his thoughts, and Vegeta narrowed his eyes. Goku raised a hand to make a point, but before his mouth could even utter the words he was about to say, a burst of ki flooded out of the King before him. Vegeta continued to sneer, even as his eyes whited out to be replaced by teal irises. His already spiky hair flared for a moment as if caught in the wind, and gold sparks shot out from him. A shockwave of force emanated from him, and his hair streaked gold before glowing bright. The tail wrapped around his waist began to glow, and to top it all off, so did his beard. His transformation completed, and the Super Saiyan aura about him thrashed about like a wildfire. It was quite the spectacular display, but for the life of him, the only thing Goku could see was his beard. He just stared at it with wide eyes, as if he wasn't sure it was gold or not. Vegeta continued to sneer back at him, shrugging off the younger Saiyans gaze.

"You see Kakarot, you aren't the only Super Saiyan in hell. There isn't anything you can do that is out of my reach. So tell me, why should we need, much less want, your help?"

Goku just blinked twice before abruptly bursting into a fit of laughter. All the Saiyans in the room stared at him in open confusion, even Nappa, who stopped pretending to ignore him and watch. Goku hunched over, holding his stomach in a futile attempt to stifle the fit. Pikkon glanced around nervously from behind him, a single bead of sweat dripping down the side of his face. King Vegeta looked like he was about to blow a gasket.

"Have you lost your mind Kakarot! You dare laugh at me?! I've got half the mind to kill you-"

Goku waved him down, wiping a tear from his eye as he finally managed to get his laughter under control. He breathed heavily for a moment to regain his breath and stood up straight.

"Sorry! I'm sorry, it's just… Of all the things, your _beard _turned gold?! How weird is that?!"

That brought out an amused smirk from several of the other Saiyans gathered, while Raditz stood behind their parents and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Kakarot, you are still an idiot."

Vegeta quirked an eyebrow at him, trying to understand whether or not Goku was being serious. Goku grinned and scratched the back of his neck again, realizing that he had just openly made fun of Royalty. Suddenly remembering that he had been asked a question earlier, he blinked in surprise. Locking eyes with the King, he let his grin shift slowly into a confident smirk. He began to tap into his ki, feeling his hair begin to wave and stand straighter on its own accord as the power began flowing. He made sure he had the King's attention before speaking, and when he did, it was in a completely different tone. All hints of humor and lightness were gone, replaced by a serious weight that let others know when he meant business.

"Back to your question sire. You want to know what I can do? I'd suggest you brace yourself…"

He trailed off before opening the chasm wide, allowing his power to push through, and triggering the transformation. The first came without a sound from his mouth, barely making an impact on his surroundings as his aura formed calmly around him. His previous training in the Super Saiyan state gave him an unprecedented level of control over it, and it cost him nothing to get there. King Vegeta remained where he was, his arms crossed and his expression impassive. He was gauging Goku up, and Goku saw the hint of uncertainty in his eyes. Latching onto that sense of power over the King, he gritted his teeth and began pulling more from himself. He reached deep down into the well of his ki and ripped the second transformation out. It was painful, just as it had been the first time he had done it, and he unintentionally let loose a short scream as his body compensated for the sudden burst of ki. Things blinked out of focus for a moment as his transformation completed, and when his eyes found the king once more, he was delighted to see open shock and awe etched into his features. Lightning arced off of his body and grounded in any surface near him, snapping through the air with a crack each time. He knew that realistically, not much had changed on the surface. His hair may have spiked a little bit higher, but all other outward appearances were inconsequential; A fact which several Saiyans seemed to notice.

King Vegeta's momentary spell of fear dissipated with Goku's aura as he brought his recently found power under shaky control. Unlike his first transformation, he had rarely ever actually brought this transformation out, and his self-control was nearly as bad as his first time on Namek. His hormones ran rampant, and the urge to fight was almost unbearable now. A tiny voice at the back of his head told him to fight them all and win, but Goku knew better. He wrestled the urge down and glared cooly back at the King, who was now smirking at him with an amused glare.

"What? Is that it? You've figured out how to give us a little extra in your light show. The lightning is pretty boy, but it hardly shows me why I should let you stay. I, however, will gladly help you see your way out!"

King Vegeta confidently strode forward, and the room filled with an excited buzz. Goku could feel Pikkon's ki spike behind him, but kept his own mind calm.

_They obviously can't read power levels or he wouldn't be so confident about this. None of them know how outclassed they really are. Ok Goku, think, what do you do?_

As Vegeta reached him, his arm came out to grasp his shoulder, no doubt to force him to turn and leave. Reacting completely on instinct, Goku's arm snapped up faster than the other Super Saiyan could react to and grasped his wrist with a vice-like grip. Vegeta gaped at him a moment before trying to rip his arm from Goku's grasp, but to no avail. Goku grunted in irritation and torqued the king's arm to the outside, forcing him to one knee to lessen the sudden pain with a pained growl. The room became silent but for the sounds of Vegeta's aura and the strained grunts as he fought to remove himself. In a desperate act, Vegeta swung out with his one free arm, his fist crashing hard into Goku's solar plexus. He felt the muscles contract and his rib cage bend with the blow, and his breath was forced out of him in a loud huff. His grip momentarily loosened with the blow, but his anger flared once more. His brow furrowed and his aura shooting up around him. His grip returned with a vengeance, earning a pained gasp from the King.

"This is why you need my help _sire. _You're not even strong enough to hurt me."

Clenching the fist of his opposite hand, he swung it around in a wide punch that hit Vegeta square in his cheek. He barely rememberd to draw back on his own strength as the strik hit, lest he do any real damage. He released the king's wrist as his head spun around with the force of the blow. His super Saiyan aura faded in a flash as he dropped out of the first transformation and onto the floor with a heavy thud. Goku's Saiyan instincts roared in approval, but he forced it back down again. He simply stared down at Vegeta, breathing deeply to calm himself and bring his aura under control again. He knew he had acted brash in that moment, but he'd be damned if he knew another way to make the King pay attention. Vegeta pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, looking surprisingly calm considering he had just been humiliated by a third class warrior.

"You dare to strike royalty…?"

Goku stood straight and crossed his arms, continuing to stare down at the king with contempt as he tried to regain his feet.

"I nearly killed your son already, so yea hitting royalty is nothing new to me."

Vegeta stood, rolling his shoulders back and turning to face him, no expression visible behind his calculating eyes. Silence reigned supreme amongst the Saiyans once more as they awaited the King's response. Vegeta's eyes narrowed for a moment before he let loose a bark of a laugh.

"HA! It would seem I misjudged you Kakarot. You are the first Saiyan I've met in this life or the previous who dared to strike me! You're more Saiyan than I originally gave you credit for. Now tell me, what is that? How is it you can overpower me so easily?"

Goku blinked in shock, staring at the man incredulously. A quick sideways glance showed that many others in the room were similarly affected by the change in tone. Goku quirked an eyebrow and let the flow of ki go, dropping out of Super Saiyan entirely.

"Um… That was the Ascended Saiyan transformation. I prefer to call it Super Saiyan two though. Easier to remember."

Vegeta absently rubbed at the shiner on his cheek, quirking an eyebrow at the younger Saiyan.

"Super Saiyan… Two? What the hell are you talking about?"

Goku rubbed at the back of his neck, glancing behind him at Pikkon, who appeared to be highly amused with the whole situation.

"Um Yea. You know, a level beyond a normal Super Saiyan? My son was the first to uncover it when fighting Cell on Earth. I only found it on the Kai's world by accident during meditation."

That wasn't entirely true. His discovery of the second transformation was triggered in a fit of frustration on his part a couple years before. He'd gotten so fed up with the Grand Kai that he had taken it out on a mountain range, and in the midst of it all he had somehow triggered it. He still hadn't properly apologized for that. Vegeta's hands dropped to his sides, his expression one of barely contained frustration.

"Fantastic, I spend thirty years trying to achieve the pinnacle of our race, only to find that it isn't. Fine Kakarot, I obviously cannot make you leave. But do not get in our way, we will deal with this threat on our own terms, not yours."

With that, he spun about and left the room in stunned silence, closely followed by Nappa and a couple other Saiyans he couldn't identify. Goku watched after him for only a moment before he was nearly tackled by his mother once again. Bardock strode over, his eyes following Vegeta's movements until he was standing mere feet away, and he smirked at his younger son. Gine backed off and lightly punched Goku on the shoulder with a wide smile.

"It's about time somebody put him in his place! I swear if I had to hear any more of his dribble about Saiyan pride and whatnot, I'd have hit him myself."

Goku laughed nervously at that, knowing that his mother wouldn't be able to actually do anything to the King if she wanted to. While she was far superior to the vast majority of fighters from earth judging by her ki, compared to many of the others in the room, she was very weak. In fact, as he scanned about absent-mindedly, he realized that the most powerful ki in the room was standing right next to him. He turned his head to his father, who continued to smirk at him.

"Heh. It seems you've made an impression on the King. It's not very often he gets flustered. It's little wonder to me why the prince would find you so infuriating."

Behind them, many Saiyans continued to stare incredulously at the tail-less Saiyan as he laughed sheepishly. Raditz gaped at him openly, his hands clenched into tight fists at his sides.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me! My kid brother hits the king and just gets away with it! What the hell is this shit?!"

Completely ignoring the outburst from the edge of the room, Goku grinned and continued scratching at the back of his neck.

"Trust me, you have _no _idea how badly Vegeta wanted to best me since the first time I fought him on earth. Shoot, I'm the reason he became a super saiyan himself! His pride wouldn't allow 'a mere third class warrior to surpass a Saiyan Elite'."

He put on a mock glare reminiscent of the prince's and mimicked his voice as he said it, earning a snort of amusement from his mother and a quizzical look from Bardock. Raditz rolled his eyes and gazed at the ceiling in irritation as he joined the rest of his family along with Pikkon, who did his best to avoid the glares of the many Saiyans scattered about. The other Saiyans in the room more or less went back to what they were doing with the exception of the group that had originally greeted them. Raditz crossed his arms and faced his brother, who just stared back at him with a neutral expression.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me. That doesn't even sound… Okay maybe a bit. But enough of the pleasantries Kakarot, it's painfully obvious we won't be rid of your annoying presence any time soon, so what is it you plan to do?"

Goku hesitated at that, shrugging his shoulders and looking at them apologetically.

"Well to be completely honest, I don't have a plan. Big battle planning was never really my thing, I'm just good at the fighting part. I rarely had to do much planning, and when I did, I… tended to make mistakes."

It was true. He'd thought about it a long time since his second death, reliving old fights in his mind. His fight with Raditz had turned out less than ideal, mostly because he had died in the process. There was no real plan when fighting Vegeta and Nappa, but then there wasn't much they could do in that situation. During his fight with Frieza, he had simply let the shape shifter max out even though he had the perfect opportunity to win and be done with it. And during the fight with Cell, he'd counted too much on his own Son to save them all. In the end, it had worked out well enough, with the side-effect that he was now almost permanently in a state of depression. Powerful though he was, Goku was well aware of his shortcomings, particularly in his intelligence.

"Brilliant, and you all call me the brute."

His brother's deadpanning brought him out of his inner musings and for a moment the two of them clashed in their stares again. Bardock placed a firm hand on both their shoulders, his eyes darting between the two of them and his expression stern.

"Would the two of you stop it! We've got bigger fish to fry right now. When this is over, then we can deal with this."

"So be it."

"Yea."

With that out of the way, both Saiyans averted their eyes and crossed their arms, refusing to look at the other. Bardock smirked at that and looked thoughtfully at the ground between them.

"Well, as for a plan, we've already got one. Although with you added to our numbers Kakarot, I think we can deal with Broly a bit easier. The guy is big, and he's certainly not letting up on anyone he comes across, but we have superior numbers. All of our Elites that remain will be there for the final confrontation, I'll introduce you beforehand so you know who is who. Finding him is not going to be that big of an issue at least."

Goku quirked an eyebrow at that, wondering how they would find Broly if none of them could read ki and none of them had scouters. Hell, he was wondering how he would find Broly with all of the energy clouding his own senses. As it was he had difficulty differentiating whos ki was who in this room because there was so much of it. On earth it was easy, there weren't that many people who had any substantial amount of ki, and he knew them all personally. But here…

"Just follow the screaming and explosions and I can almost guarantee he'll be there."

_Oh yea… Kinda forgot about that._

Suddenly Goku remembered the other fighter from otherworld who had accompanied him, whos own ki was nearly rivaling his own.

"Oh hey, I almost forgot! There's one other person who can help us out a lot! I already introduced you to Pikkon, but I may have left out the bit where he's almost as strong as I am, and certainly more skilled."

The Saiyans collectively turned towards the green warrior and looked him over with a skeptical eye. Pikkon kept his expression neutral but glared right back, defying any of them to test him. Of course, considering that none of them could feel the magnitude of his abilities by senses alone, it was no wonder to Goku that they were skeptical. He clapped the tall namekian-like warrior on the shoulder and beamed up at him.

"We fought to a draw in a tournament in otherworld! Though I think he's been here for a while longer than me…"

"Hmph… Try a few hundred years, you little upstart."

Goku shrugged at that and returned his eyes to his father, who still seemed skeptical, but nodded anyways.

"Well, if he's anywhere near as powerful as you, I'm not going to turn his help away. The King may be in charge here, but I command his forces now. After trying to take down Frieza, I know how much every bit of aid counts."

Goku hesitated at that, seeming to hear a long lost memory in the back of his mind.

"You command? I'm sorry, I'm confused. I thought that Nappa was the General of his armies?"

Bardock smirked at that and glanced over his shoulder to where the giant Saiyan had disappeared with the king.

"Yea, the big guy used to be. After the prince killed him, he ended up filling a more _advisory _role. He was once the most powerful Saiyan besides the king, but that's long since been changed. My team and I managed to surpass him quite soundly, and so I got put in charge."

Goku grinned at that, planting his fists on his hips and standing straight.

"Cool! So… uh… when do we do this?"

Bardock smirked and crossed his arms.

"Soon Kakarot. We've got some last minute arrangements to make. But in the mean-time, I think you have some catching up to do. The remains of the Saiyan race are all about you! Oh and…"

Bardock considered him with that same smirk and narrowed eyes, looking him over from head to foot. Goku stared at him in confusion before looking down at himself. Was it his clothes?

"Let's see if we can do something about those. You are a Saiyan, I think we can help you fit the bill a bit better."

***SOME TIME LATER***

Goku shrugged and stretched his arms out to the side, feeling the surprisingly weightless sensation of the armor that he had donned at the request of Bardock. He looked down at it with wonder, pulling at the stretchy plastic that formed the chest-plate. It was very similar to his fathers in design, lacking the shoulder boards that jutted out of many of the other Saiyan's armor. In color, it was primarily burnt orange and white. His chest was bare beneath the plate, but his lower half had been covered by a set of black pants that fit tightly to his legs. On his feet he had donned a pair of white boots that extended almost to his knees in the form of armored shin guards wrapped tightly around his calves by a flexible orange material. It wasn't unlike the armor he had worn during his time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber before Cell, and this set fit him even better. Though he found it slightly odd to be able to see his own shoulders and as he looked down.

"This is… actually pretty impressive! I didn't think that this stuff was so light. The last set I wore was a bit cumbersome compared to my Gi! These are different than the copies Bulma made."

He looked up at his mother, who had fetched the garb for him and was smiling up at him with a motherly expression. She was currently holding his regular clothing, and he was slightly thankful that it wasn't weighted like he used to do. She shrugged and tugged on the shoulder strap of her own black and green armor.

"The Saiyan battle armor is actually something we recovered from Tuffle technology long ago. That rat Frieza saw the usefulness of it and used it for his own men. You probably don't believe it, but we had that plate created not too long ago! Bardock can seem so stoic sometimes, but deep down he always wanted to meet you, so he had it created just in case he ever got the chance. I thought he was just being sentimental, but now you're here to actually wear it! I gotta say, it suits you."

Her tail waved about excitedly behind her and Goku couldn't help but grin at her statement. There were many questions he wanted to ask her about them. How was Bardock able to see into the future? Did he know he would be coming to hell? What else does he know? But then one popped into his mind that he wasnt at all hesitant to ask.

"Sooo… how exactly do you guys make this stuff anyways? I'm sorry but there doesn't seem to be too many ways to make armor down here."

Gine grinned, her tail flicking with excitement behind her.

"Oh it's really quite simple! We just use ki to compress and mold whatever material we want to make it out of and change the molecular structure! Depending on what you use to make it, it'll make it different strengths and elasticity! Some of our more skilled users can simply create the armor out of things like air! Actually that's exactly how I made that armor you're wearing now! Well… Mostly. The things like the body suit are a bit more difficult since we have to scavenge for materials here."

Goku blinked at her a few times as her explanation sank in, and he was immediately reminded of the ability Piccolo managed to perfect which sounded nearly identical to her description. He'd always wondered how the Namekian was able to create clothes out of thin air. He decided that if he ever had the chance he'd have to ask him about his "clothes beam". He couldn't help it, he let out a chuckle and grinned.

"Heh. Clothes beam…"

"Pffft! Oh that's good."

Together, the two of them got lost in the moment of seemingly pointless amusement. Gine sighed, bringing Goku back to the now as her eyes took on a distant look, her mouth still holding a small smile.

"You know, it's strange Son. Having you here? We're all together, for the first time since you were born, and I don't know what to expect now. That first day, your brother and Father were there with me, and I had such high hopes that we would finally be able to pull our lives together and do something that I'd dreamed of for years."

Goku tilted his head to the side, considering her for a moment. She seemed to come out of whatever memory she was watching and locked her onyx eyes with his, her smile growing again.

"It was considered improper when Bardock and I met, forging anything with another Saiyan besides a battle bond or the expected mating to make the race stronger. When I was a part of Bardock's elite, I had to be saved… a lot… your father despised me, said I was too soft."

Goku furrowed his brow at that, wondering then how they had become mated in the first place. Gine just gave him a knowing smile and shrugged.

"I suppose it was all the big macho-man routine for him, because after a while he actually seemed to _enjoy_ helping me. When he told me to leave the team, I was broken. But he came to me later, and explained himself. He revealed what he really felt, and was uncertain about what to do about it. Heh, we mated that night, that's what _I _did about it."

Goku averted his eyes, feeling a slight rush of heat to his cheeks that was unpredicted by him. The sheer open-ness of his mother wasn't really a shock, but he'd never actually thought about any of that from either Saiyan. He'd done the deed with Chi Chi already, proof being his son, but it made him surprisingly uncomfortable thinking about his parents doing it.

_Wow, those times where Gohan got nervous around me and Chi suddenly make a _lot _more sense…_

"Not long after Raditz was born, many of the Saiyans began falling to Frieza's wrath, for no apparent reason. We sought to leave his servitude, creating a new vision for the Saiyan race. It was an opportunity I thought we'd never get, and Bardock and I began influencing those around us to try and change. My dream of a family, a real family that wasn't bound to honor merely for survival, suddenly became a possibility. Of course, when Frieza destroyed Vegeta, along with all of us, that possibility merely became wishful thinking."

Goku couldn't help but notice how her eyes seemed to darken at that, her face taking on a lined and strained expression. She hesitated at that, her eyes shifting out of focus again. Goku reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, unsure what to do to comfort his mother. But his touch alone brought her out of her thoughts and pulled a smile to her face again.

"And now, here we are. Thirty five years later almost and we're all together again. Of course you and Raditz don't get along so well, but then I never imagined you would! Shoot you should have seen Bardock and his brother!"

Goku hesitated, his expression turning to curiosity as he silently asked her to elaborate. She rolled her eyes and waved it off with a smirk.

"Guy named Turles, real stick in the mud that one. All I really know about him is that he shared Bardock's looks. I don't know where he wound up to be honest, and I don't really care. He disappeared before Frieza came."

Goku chuckled with a wide grin, knowing full well what had happened to the Saiyan he now knew to be his own uncle. Gine sighed, her eyes taking on a distant look once more.

"But regardless, you're here. It's almost like my long lost dream could come true now…"

She trailed off, leaving the unspoken "but" in the air in all but her voice as her eyes traced their way up to his halo. It stood out amongst all the others, because none of the other Saiyans had halos; a sign of their entrapment in hell. Goku suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable as he caught on to what she was thinking. His being here was a tease for her. He knew he'd have to leave once his business was conducted, once again leaving her to wonder about him. He furrowed his brow, drifting off into thought as inspiration struck him.

_Maybe she _can_ have her dream? Regardless of what they may have done in their past, many of these people are not bad at their core. Just look at Vegeta! He may have been a horrible person when we were younger, but that was purely due to his forced survival under Frieza. He became one of the good guys as soon as that threat was eliminated. Well… Sorta. If I can save them from this place, then I will… But how?_

Gine shook her head and nudged him with her elbow, bringing him out of his contemplations. She smiled a small smile and huffed with amusement.

"Look at me, sounding like an old lady! Our bodies may not age here, but my head is packed with memories and hopes long gone. It's a fool's hope to believe I can have what I want. What's important is that you're here now, and that you lived your life to the fullest. Hell, you lived the life I wanted you to live, even if it wasn't my influence that did it."

Goku considered her a moment, reflecting that his kinder side probably came from her and not Bardock. The life he'd lived on Earth, the family he'd started, all those around him considered him to be a powerful friend, and a kind soul. He'd heard it a hundred times, and he always tried to live up to that image. It could be his head injury as a baby rattled loose his brain and caused a personality shift, but Goku liked to believe it had a large part to do with his shared genetics with the woman standing next to him now.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that mum…"

He trailed off, unsure what else to say. They began walking in comfortable silence, leaving behind the small room in which he had changed and walking back through the maze of tunnels until they found themselves emerging into the yellow light of hell outside the cave. A few of the Saiyans and Pikkon had emerged, including Bardock's team. He had been briefly introduced to them all. There was Tora with the pony-tail, who was his second in command. Fasha was the female that he had met before. The older looking Saiyan was named Borgos, and the shorter dumpling of a man was named Shugesh. After his little exchange with the King, the four of them seemed to have found a new respect for him, which Goku's gut roared in approval of. As one, the four of them acknowledged him with a nod of the head, which he returned in kind, allowing a small smile to dance on his lips as he made his way towards his father and brother. As he came abreast to them, he cleared his throat, alerting them to his presence. Bardock turned his head and smirked in satisfaction as he took his younger son, now dressed in the armor made for him.

"Good, you look every bit a Saiyan in that. I trust it's to your liking? I hope so, because it's time to go meet our friend."

Goku felt the flame of battle kindle in his gut at the thought, knowing well what he was about to go meet. He felt his face shift to a confident smirk and clenched his fist at his side. A spike of ki caught his attention and he turned his head to see the King taking to the air and shooting off into the distance, trailing a white streak of aura and being closely followed by a large number of other Saiyans. He gently pushed his ki beneath him, floating slowly off the ground and turning towards the rest of his family.

"Let's do this! Pikkon, just stick with me okay?"

The green warrior nodded and floated up next to him. Bardock quickly embraced his mate before nodding to both of his sons and taking off quickly after Vegeta. Goku and Raditz shared a serious look before bolting after their father, leaving the few Saiyans who weren't cut out behind as they followed their King.

They had been flying about for 10 minutes, and nothing had alerted any of them to the Legendary Super Saiyan's presence. They had seen hardly anyone as of yet. Goku and Bardock had caught up to the King at the front of the group as they soared just below the yellow cloud cover that blanketed hell. Goku felt a strange sense of nostalgia as they traveled, watching the ground below them blur by with brief bits of recognition. Somewhere above him was snake way and King Kai's planet. He searched about below and saw in the distance the great blood lake where he had originally fallen from the long road during his first death.

_Oh, I wonder if Goz and Mez are still he-_

A powerful burst of familiar ki erupted ahead of them, and Goku immediately felt his heart burn with anger. His fists clenched at his sides as the memories of his time on Namek returned to his mind.

"Frieza…"

***BLOOD LAKE, NEAR THE HIDDEN ENTRANCE TO THE CHECK IN STATION***

Goz and Mez cowered from the purple and white monstrosity that was Frieza as he screamed at them. Behind the shapeshifter, Cell calmly stood with a smirk decorating his face. The group of people surrounding them looked on with anger and frustration. Despite everything that was being done to them, the two ogres had managed to hold their fear in check enough to withhold the information they sought. But now the purple tyrant had gotten fed up with his peons not getting him what he wanted.

"YOU TWO ARE GOING TO TELL ME RIGHT NOW HOW TO GET OUT OF THIS HELL HOLE, OR I WILL BLAST YOU INTO OBLIVION!"

He raised his hand to carry out his threat, pointing his finger directly at the red ogre with a feral snarl on his face. The tip of his finger glowed pink, and the two of them clenched their eyes shut in anticipation. But just as he was going to release his blast, he was interrupted by a bright gold ball of ki impacting him in the side of the head, catching him by surprise and sending him tumbling into a group of soldiers from his father's army. The group turned as one to see who had unleashed the blast, and recoiled in shock as an entire army of Saiyans landed in a group, headed by the King himself. All of them were adorned in armor similar to the soldiers who stood about Frieza as he stood, wiping the blood from the side of his face and seething at them.

"You… You STUPID MONKEYS! HOW _DARE _YOU-…"

He hesitated as he stepped forward to take them all in, spotting one Saiyan that stood out from the rest, just to the right of the King who he had disposed of himself so long ago. He just stood there in Saiyan armor, a halo above his head and his arms crossed with an uncharacteristic glare on his face. A flood of fear crawled through his veins and he visibly began quaking at the sight of the Saiyan who had defeated him so soundly.

"G-Goku… No it can't be you!"

Many amongst the crowd visibly paled at the name, and a smirk appeared on the Saiyan's face. Cell began laughing behind his shorter comrade and stood up to his full height, catching the gaze of the Saiyans before him, including Goku.

"My my, Goku my old friend, you seem to have an effect on little old Frieza don't you? Oh but this is too _good_! You do remember what happened to you last time? Tell me, how is your son doing?"

Goku's smirk fell away to an angry snarl as he stared up at the android.

"What are you doing Cell?"

Cell smiled brightly at him, holding his hands out at his sides and bowing slightly towards the saiyan with a look in his eyes that held as much confidence as he'd had in life.

"Why, I'm merely paying my respects that are due to you. After all it's been so many years already since I killed you! And once I get out of here, I'll be sure to visit your Son and pay him _his _respects for killing me!"

Instantly, Goku's aura burst forth from him, shattering the ground around him and even sending some of the Saiyans besides him sliding in the opposite direction. His hair flashed gold and stood on end as he transformed, and a pair of hate-filled teal eyes glared at him from behind a mask of rage. The Android grinned even wider, crossing his arms before him and adopting a relaxed posture. Goku slowly sunk back into a prepared stance, narrowing his eyes at him before growling out just loud enough for everyone else to hear.

"Not this time Cell, you're done. You're going to stay away from my family, and you're not leaving. I won't allow it."

Cell continued to smile while getting into his own stance, glaring right back at the Saiyan.

"A fight then? I won't lie, I've wanted a rematch since our last meeting. So if it's a battle you want, then we can oblige you."

He cast his gaze to his sides, getting the attention of the many soldiers surrounding them as well as Frieza and king Cold.

"All of you, let's wipe the Saiyan Race from existence. And if you don't fight and kill them, then I will kill you myself."

Many of the soldiers reluctantly gathered their strength and prepared themselves, and the Saiyans across from them did likewise. They were outnumbered by a vast margin, but where many of Frieza's soldiers and members of the red ribbon army seemed hesitant, each and every Saiyan looked determined, with a fire in their eyes and the desire for blood on their hands. Auras burst up around the soon to be battlefield on both sides, and a calm settled for a moment across them all. Cell and Goku locked eyes once more, and the Android smirked, recalling how he had initiated their last fight.

"Ding."

**A/N: Alrighty there you go! Beginning of the end here. I'm sure some of you are wondering why Goku doesn't just sense out Broly and go straight for him right? If i didn't make it well known in the story itself, he's in hell with many of the most powerful beings in the universe. On top of that, ki sensing is like feeling out the "spirit energy" of a person if I recall correctly, and he's literally surrounded by billions of souls that have died over the many years in the universe. It's not hard for me to imagine that there is so much going in he can barely tell what's what, much less actually search for something effectively. In other words, he's got his mind fogged up with Ki. Anyways, as I said, next chapter is going to be the battle itself, and will probably end there. I may do something with it afterwards to lead into Goku's debut in my other story, or I may add another arc to it, but that is yet to be determined. R/R and let me know what you think! And as always, have a good day.**


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